Doomsday coming? Well, then it's time to have fun

The end is nigh.
Or is it?
Some Colorado Springs residents have bought into the widely-spread notion that the world will come to a crashing halt on Friday, according to the ancient Mayan calendar.
Meadow Muffins bar in Old Colorado City is taking full advantage of the legend, and is...

Some Colorado Springs residents have bought into the widely-spread notion that the world will come to a crashing halt on Friday, according to the ancient Mayan calendar.

2 photos
+ captionA Mayan dancer performs at the Xcaret Eco Theme Park on the outskirts of Playa del Carmen, Mexico, Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012. Amid a worldwide frenzy of advertisers and new-agers preparing for a Maya apocalypse, one group is approaching Dec. 21 with calm and equanimity, the people whose ancestors supposedly made the prediction in the first place. (AP Photo/Israel Leal) Photo by

Meadow Muffins bar in Old Colorado City is taking full advantage of the legend, and is advertising a Zombie Apocalypse Party on Friday night. Selina Delahanty, one of the bar’s managers, said she’s heard from one man who is holding his birthday party at the bar Friday night, and is trying to get roughly 40 of his friends to dress up as zombies.

“I’ve gotten 20 or 30 phone calls in the past week from people asking what we’re doing, because they think the world is going to end,” said Delahanty.

Phil Duhon, owner of Oscar’s Oyster Bar downtown, joked, “We’ll shoot zombies on sight. And if they don’t have the proper ID, they’re not getting in.”

But the notion that the world will end is 180 degrees off, said Don Goede, executive director of Marmalade at Smokebrush, a local community arts foundation. Goede listened to a presentation over the summer by a Mayan shaman who visited Colorado Springs, and he said there won’t be any zombies walking around on Saturday.

Friday isn’t the end of the world at all, said Goede. It’s the start of a new calendar.

“According to the Mayans, it’s not about the world ending. It’s about the world beginning,” said Goede. “The Mayans believe that not only are we going to be starting anew on (Friday), but we’ll have a higher consciousness.”

Friday’s date — 12/21/12 — is a sacred one to both Mayans and many native American tribes, said Goede. He has helped put together a C’anupa peace pipe ceremony for Friday afternoon, in cooperation with the native American group the White Horse Circle of the World Council of Elders. The ceremony will be open to the public, and anyone is welcome to take part.